When he reached the hallway, it was the first time that he noticed that something was slightly off but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Bending down towards the small bench that stood next to the entrance door, he noticed what exactly it was that had caught his attention. The spot that usually held his boots was empty. He was sure he had placed them exactly where he would place them every night when he came home – on that small bench at the door next to the coat rack.
"Liv," he called out into the empty hallway, "have you seen my boots?"
"Next to the door," came the immediate reply from the back of the house, "just where you always put them."
"They are not there!"
He stared at the empty spot next to a pair of Olivia's dark black boots. He was sure he had taken them off right there last night... except that the spot that usually held his boots was eerily empty.
Suddenly, he felt a tug at his pants which caused him to turn. There, behind him, stood his son, beaming up at him brightly with an almost toothless grin.
"Daddy," the boy began as he held up his arms into the air, "I am you!"
He couldn't suppress a chuckle as he stared down at the boy, "So that's where my boots went."
The six year old trotted around the hallway in a pair of boots that obviously were way too big for him. He had his father's pea coat wrapped around him, dark sleeves and cotton hem dragging across the floor as he took one big step after another, trying to demonstrate a fast and manly stride. He was donning the most earnest look he could muster, eyebrows drawn into a frown, lips squeezed tightly together while he continued his marching up and down the hallway.
"I'm good, yes?"
"Perfect," he replied as he scooped his son into his arms, tickling his sides which elicited immediate laughter from the boy, "you think daddy can have his boots back now, monkey?"
"Can I show mommy first?"
"Fine."
He sat his son back down on the ground and gently swatted his bottom before the boy scampered off in direction of the kitchen with a loud, "moooooooommy!"
He shook his head, the smile never leaving his face as he watched after the little one. Even in times like these, with doomsday looming just around the corner and every day threatening to be the last, with death and decay a constant reminder in his life, his son managed to put a smile on his face, reminding him that there indeed was still a reason for why they all needed to fight. A simple smile that for one moment allowed him to forget what was waiting for him outside that door and that inside these four walls, they were just a normal family.